17 Tips on How to Achieve Your New Year’s Health and Fitness Resolutions

Old habits die hard, so they say — and don’t we know it. If you’ve ever tried to keep a New Year’s resolution and failed, you’re certainly not alone. We all know plenty of people whose goals evanesce into nothingness after the first few months of the year, and according to YouGov, six in ten failed to keep all their 2017 resolutions*.

There are ways to make your health and fitness resolutions easier to keep. Leading high street retailer Robert Dyas has fitness equipment and gadgets plus handy kitchenware that can save you both time and money, giving you more motivation to achieve your goals — and they have some handy tips too.

“Many of us have very busy schedules due to work and family commitments, so it can be hard to stay fit and healthy”, says Robert Dyas’ health and lifestyle buyer, Lloyd Cheesman. “It’s no wonder the majority of us fail to keep our New Year’s health and fitness resolutions — not many people have the money to spare for costly gym memberships, or much time to spend on cooking. It’s all about making small, gradual lifestyle improvements and making your health and fitness routine suit your schedule.

Cheesman continues: “The key is to make life as easy for yourself as you can so you don’t always require so much motivation — and the right tools can really help you to achieve your goals. From home fitness equipment to save you time going to and from the gym, to soup makers that do all the hard work for you, we’ve got lots of items to help you on the way to success.”

1. Before you head off to work, do a quick workout at home. That way, you won’t need to shower at the gym or take spare clothes to the office, keeping hassle to a minimum. This Aerobics Step (£39.99, reduced to £19.99) and 4kg Kettle Bell (£17.99, reduced to £8.99) will help you tone your glutes for an Instagram-worthy bubble bum, while this Weighted Skipping Rope (£11.99, reduced to £5.99) will help you step up your skipping for super-toned arms. As for the core, use this Phoenix Fitness Ab Roller (£10.99, reduced to £5.49) to firm up your abs.

2. Tell people what your resolution is to make it harder for you to quit. Better still — get a gym buddy so you can motivate each other.

3. Make your workouts easy and fun — with this V-fit Ge2 36” Trampoline (£44.99, online only), all you need to do is bounce around. Squeeze in ten to fifteen minutes while you’re watching TV or waiting for your dinner to cook!

4. Gym memberships can’t be seen so it’s often a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Make sure you keep your home gym equipment in sight — in your bedroom for example — to remind you to do a quick workout.

5. Focus on your goal and set yourself small objectives every day. This Withings Activity Watch (£99.99 reduced to £29.99) and Withings Pulse Tracker (£79.99 reduced to £24.99) will give you a full health and fitness overview, tracking your steps, distance and calories and even monitoring your sleep.

6. Give yourself a small reward every time you achieve a daily goal to help keep you motivated.

7. Have a workout plan for those days when you’re really lacking energy. If you can’t face a full workout, try some gentle yoga instead with this Myga Yoga Mat (£19.99 reduced to £9.99) to improve your flexibility. And if all you want to do is watch TV, use this Drive Pedal Exerciser (£34.99, online only) while you’re sat on the sofa. It might not match a run in the park but it’ll still get the calories burning!

8. Cycle to places instead of getting the bus or using the car. Robert Dyas has a great selection of men’s bikes (£139.99 - £749.99) and women’s bikes (£139.99 - £749.99), as well as handy bike accessories (£1.99 - £750). They also have kids’ bikes (£49.99 - £244.99) so you can get all the family involved.

9. Don’t get disheartened if you put on a pound or two as weight isn’t always a good measure of health. Keep an eye on your BMI, body water and body fat with this Salter Glass Analyser Digital Bathroom Scale (£29.99 reduced to £14.99).

10. If you often forget to drink your recommend eight glasses of water a day, give yourself reminders. This Polar Gear 750ml Daily Water Tritan Bottle (£7.99 reduced to £3.99) has markings that tell you how much water you’ve drunk so far, so you can be sure you’re well hydrated.

11. Whizz up a smoothie and save enough for the next day or two so you don’t have to make one every day, or take homemade soup to work to up your vegetable intake. (Don’t bother peeling carrots and potatoes — it saves time and also allows you to benefit from all the nutrients held in the skin.) This Salter 1.6L Electric Soup Maker Jug (£35.99, up to £39.99) does all the hard work for you, and even doubles up as a smoothie-maker.

12. Swap calorific pasta for courgetti with the Robert Dyas Tri-Blade Spiralizer (£3.99), which gives you spaghetti, ribbon and fettuccine cuts — it’s an easy switch and could save you lots of calories. Don’t have the time? Use the Tower Electric Spiralizer (£31.99, online only) instead.

13. Avoid buying unhealthy lunches by making food in batches for work. Simply pop them in the Sistema To-Go 6-Piece Storage Set (£15.99, reduced to £7.99, in store only) and save your health and your pennies.

14. Don’t just cut out the sweet stuff and go cold turkey — it rarely works. Swap chocolate and sweets for something healthy yet equally delicious, such as homemade sorbet. Simply use a hand blender (£21.99, online only) to blend frozen berries and bananas together, or use this Tower 1000W Xtreme Pro Nutri Blender (£39.99 reduced to £29.99) for healthy chocolate mousse made from avocado, cacao, honey and vanilla extract.

15. If you struggle to find time for healthy cooking, let this Salter Compact Prep Pro Mini Food Processor (£39.99, reduced to £26.49) chop your veg for you to cut down the time you spend preparing meals.

16. Steam your food instead of boiling it to retain more nutrients. The Russell Hobbs 3-Tier Steamer (£29.99 reduced to £22.49) creates steam in less than 40 seconds for speedy meals, and has three tiers for cooking different foods.

17. Cook with less fat by using non-stick pans like this Salter MegaStone Non-Stick Pan Set (£89.99 reduced to £44.99) and this Daewoo Halogen Air Fryer (£24.99, up to £34.99). With the air fryer you’ll get perfectly crispy food but with less or even no oil — it’s a win-win situation.

Robert Dyas, a man of notable character and remarkable determination, founded the company in 1872. He had a vision to provide customers with the best products, service and advice possible – a tradition that continues to be the focus of the company to this day. In 2012, successful businessman and star of BBC TV’s Dragons Den, Theo Paphitis, bought the company.

Theo Paphitis is one of the UK’s most high-profile businessmen with an empire spanning retail, property and finance. Theo, through his staff at the Theo Paphitis Retail Group (TPRG), has continued the Robert Dyas tradition of excellent customer service.

Robert Dyas offers an extensive range of household products. The range includes smart home technology, DIY solutions, small and domestic appliances, homeware, bakeware and kitchenware, outdoor and garden, utility, gifts, textiles plus Christmas trees and gifts.

The company has 94 stores, ranging from 1,250 to 9,000 square feet (116 to 836 square meters) and operates online and in the South of England. The most western store is in Yeovil, the most eastern store in Colchester, the most northern store in Solihull and the store furthest south is in Eastbourne. The company’s head office is now based in Wimbledon.

Robert Dyas is a high street retailer with 94 stores in the South of England. The company offers an extensive range of household products online and in-store including smart home technology, DIY solutions, small and domestic appliances, ...